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Finish Line Script Competition Names Grand Prize Winner

Folklore by Sebastian Magiera has been named the Grand Prize Winner of the 2018 Finish Line Script Competition. Set in 18th century colonial America, the script is about a Spanish priest and a cursed enchantress who band together to prevent malevolent supernatural forces from destroying the lives of helpless villagers.

WINNERS

GRAND PRIZE WINNER: FOLKLORE by Sebastian Magiera - Set in 18th century colonial America, a Spanish priest and a cursed enchantress band together to prevent malevolent supernatural forces from destroying the lives of helpless villagers. One Hour Television Pilot Genres: Horror, Drama, Thriller

FIRST RUNNER-UP: NANCYGIRL by David McMahon - A middle-aged woman's obsession with a drag queen takes her and her best friend from Alabama to New York City on a journey that threatens to destroy her family and her husband's political ambitions. Feature Script - Genres: Drama, Comedy, LGBTQ

SECOND RUNNER-UP: THE CHOP by Ryan O’Leary - A landlord struggles with heat, murder and parking spots as she fights to keep her inner-city block from regressing back to its notorious legacy of crime and violence. - One Hour Television Pilot - Genres: Crime, Drama

SEMI-FINALISTS LOG LINES

2018 SEMI-FINALISTS TELEVISION PILOTS

COSTAL SHELF by Michael Berlind - Two teenage girls from opposite sides of the tracks conspire against their narcissistic parents, threatening to tear apart the facade of a family & of a community. Genres: Drama, Thriller

CROSSROADS by George Gutierrez - A resilient & by-the-book sheriff strives to uncover the disappearance of her enigmatic goddaughter while braving an evil organization tied to sex trafficking & supernatural elements. Genres: Drama & Sci-Fi

DRAG by Nick Kirby - As knackered old drag queen Miss Barry Bangs turns 60, a shocking series of events turn his world upside down. Now he’s got to find his balls and fight for what matters. Genres: Drama, Comedy

EMERGENCY PSYCHIATRIC SERVICES by Holly Scarabosio - Based on true events. An idealistic young nurse cares for mentally-ill patients — while struggling with her own crazy life and her “abilities”. Genres: Dramedy

END OF LIFE by Sean Collins-Smith - Frank runs an elaborate and decidedly illegal operation: helping stage murders for the suicidal. Their life insurance doesn't get voided, his team gets a cut, everyone goes home happy. What could possibly go wrong? Genres: Drama, Dark Comedy, Crime

HOT STEAMING GARBAGE by Brandon Brown - The first-ever human born in space ungracefully attempts to navigate the perils of a city that refuses to forget her unique origins all these years later. Genres: Dark Comedy, Dramedy, Sci-Fi

JUICEHEADS by Milan Tomasevic - In the booming 90s, a Serbian-American steroid expert cheats his way to a blood doping empire. Genres: Crime-Drama, Comedy

LIFT by Quinn Spicker - Set in an alternate 1870s universe where the surface of the earth is uninhabitable and the surviving humans live in airship cities in the sky. The story follows Queen Victoria's drug-addicted youngest daughter and two orphans on the run as war breaks out. Genres: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Action

MIDNIGHT SUN by Jennifer Titus - After finding a mysterious artifact in the melting polar ice, a timid climate scientist must go on the run with a reckless mercenary to keep the artifact, rumored to contain the antidote to global warming, out of the hands of an evil corporation. Genres: Action-Adventure, Sci-Fi, Family

MURDER OF CROWS by Jason Forbach - A young man in a coma is kept alive with the help of a down-on-her-luck nurse in a government designed simulation program where he must survive within the simulation to clear his name of a crime he is certain he didn’t commit in the real world. Genres: Family Drama. Sci-Fi, Thriller

QUEEN OF SPADES by Rafael Piexoto - A police hostage negotiator, scarred by a family tragedy, has to face her most powerful enemy: a man with no past that seems to know everything about her. But can a woman with no desire to live win a man with a strong desire to kill? Genres: Crime, Drama, Action

RIDE THE FENCE by RM Shafer - A small town watches aghast as one of their own dies during the bull riding competition. Maggie McClusky, a brilliant, bored ranch wife fears her son might have been involved, but when an attractive detective is sent to investigate, she finds herself running interference while simultaneously trying not to fall for the first man in years (maybe ever) to appreciate her mind. Genres: Drama, Western, Mystery

SAVAGE by David Schlow - An exiled super-solider suffering from degenerative brain damage must train his estranged children to use their newfound abilities and resist becoming tools of the dystopian government that created him—all while protecting them from an even bigger threat: himself. Genres: Sci-Fi, Drama

SAVIOR by Tim Molloy - A grad student infiltrates a cult to find out what happened to her missing husband. Genres: Drama, Thriller

STRANGE FRUIT by Jordan Traylor - Idris, a slave, arrives at a notoriously brutal cotton plantation, where he begins to experience supernatural events as the plantation overseers try to figure out who's responsible before the infamous plantation owner returns. Genres: Supernatural, Historical, Drama

THE DILETTANTES by Ellen Doyle - Three restless girls from Phoenix move to Los Angeles at the height of the 1979 punk rock explosion to pursue their dreams. Genres: Drama

THE HALL MONITOR by Chris Caleo - After losing his job, his wife, and his son in one fell swoop, a meek commodities trader transforms himself in The Hall Monitor, a web-based crusader looking to topple the worst offenders in capitalism. His first target: the Hedge Fund King who he holds responsible for decimating his only child. Genres: Magical Realism, Drama, Psychological Thriller.

THE HARLOW EFFECT by Nathan Adolfson - Joshua Gaines has beaten the odds so far, but balancing his double life as a college freshman and a hitman just might kill him. Genres: Crime, Drama

THE RESURRECTIONISTS by Travis Opgenorth - Inspired by true events: In 1820s Edinburgh, where demand for medical cadavers is high and supply is limited, a prominent doctor makes moves to fund his life-saving research by leveraging control of a lucrative cadaver black market with a pair of poverty-stricken ne'er-do-wells out to make a living selling the bodies of their murder victims. Genres: Historical, Drama, Thriller

THE SWITCH by Thomas Clary - After an unexplained global event, where everyone on Earth has switched bodies, FBI Agent Cooper Langford must recapture every serial killer he’s ever put in jail after they’ve “escaped” into other people. They look nothing like they did before; they have different DNA and fingerprints... But one thing hasn’t changed — their desire to kill. Genres: Sci-Fi, Suspense Thriller, Drama

THE TROUBLE WITH AUDREY by Paul Ashton - When their best friends die in an accident, a couple become guardians of their two children... and the secret to AGI (in the form of a humanoid called Audrey). They must then protect her, and their new family, from sinister government agents trying to weaponize Audrey's technology. Genres: Sci-Fi, Dramedy, Family

THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND by Brian Burstein - Based on actual events. During the 1970s, America's most successful, home-grown terrorist organization bombed targets as highly protected as the Pentagon and Capitol Building, forged alliances with our most feared enemies in Cuba and North Vietnam, and landed themselves on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List. And somehow, they all got away with it. Today, they are published authors and tenured professors at some of America's most prestigious universities. This is the untold story of the Weathermen. Genres: Biopic, Thriller, Period

TWIST by Damian Wayling - As war threatens, a free-thinking teacher must protect his school against the stifling status quo or risk their only chance of sanctuary. Genres: Historical Drama, Romance, War

2018 SEMI-FINALISTS FEATURE SCREENPLAYS

ANVIL JACK by Kerry Mark - The story of an African-American blacksmith living in the post-Civil War South who is the target of a family of killers looking to reclaim the young white boy that he has been raising. Genres: Historical drama, Action

A YACHT IN THE APACHE JUNCTION by Avi Glick - A Native American police officer living on an Apache reservation attempts to teach his daughter how to be "good" in a town plagued by hate, greed, and two unclaimed winning lottery tickets. Genres: Satire, Crime, Comedy

BAD MARK by Elizabeth Delaney - One dark night, out upon the desolate moor, Dr. Morana 'Moody' Blue's quiet hit goes awry when she rescues a young boy from her mark's submerging car – just as her arch nemesis closes in. Genres: Thriller, Drama, Action

BEHIND THE BADGE by John Martins III - An evidence officer for a sheriff’s department struggles to be law-abiding in the midst of civil rights corruption, before revealing his secret-self. Genres: Police Drama, Drama, Action

BLISS by Peter Sreckovic - A painter who believes that the key to artistic greatest is turmoil and pain pushes himself too far, until his artistic creations come to life and torment him. When he meets and falls in love with Elise, a young medical student, he must decide between love and his pursuit of art, all while continuing to fight against his pestering creations. Genre: Drama, Magical Realism

BROKEN SINCLAIR by Beth Ashby - Broken Sinclair finds himself at something of a disadvantage when it comes to being normal—he was born empty. While his parents attempt to sell him to a collector of oddities, an unwanted middle school crush gives him a reason to fight for his life and discover secrets to being human. Genres: Dark Comedy, Fantasy

BULLET CATCHER by Graham Bowlin - When soldiers return from Afghanistan, they find that what they believed to be symptoms of PTSD may actually be vengeance-seeking spirits of war. Genres: Thriller, Horror

DARKNESS AWAITS by Christopher Blackwell - After a woman has an emotional breakdown following the death of her son, her husband takes her on a trip to their new home in the mountains. However, the area turns out to be much more hostile and full of secrets than they anticipated. Genres: Thriller, Terror, Horror

DRONEGAMES by Jay Kim - Three tech savvy teens accidentally witness an attack on an eccentric local drone inventor, and work to uncover an international conspiracy that threatens them all. Genres: Drama, Thriller, Mystery

EXPERIENCE by Taj Musco - A lonely bus driver is torn between truth and deception when she discovers a lost love doll on her bus, then secretly befriends the doll’s owner under false pretenses. Genres: Drama, Mystery, LGBT

FAST FASHION by David Mandell - An orphaned Syrian refugee working in a Turkish sweatshop sews pleading messages into the clothes, which are found by a law student in Los Angeles who becomes obsessed with saving her. Genre: Drama

FORGET-ME-NOTS by John Dummer - As they await a supernova explosion that will end all life on earth, an astrobiologist and two uninvited guests at his island cabin must fend off an invasive plant from another world – but is the plant a predator or an interstellar lifeline? Genres: Sci-Fi, Horror

FREQUENTLY USED, EASILY FORGOTTEN by Audrey Cornett - A bitter and despondent girl makes a pact with a troubled actor (Robert Downey Jr., himself) in order to finally accomplish her deepest desire: killing herself. Genres: Drama, Dark Comedy, Coming of Age

HANNA GLADE by Leslie Witter - A damaged young woman develops a loving and life altering relationship with her sister's neglected adopted son and struggles with her own demons and her sister's determination to end their relationship. Genre: Drama

JUNIPER'S POINT by Amber Alexander - In the wilds of rural Canada, a formidable mountain woman investigates a murder in her religious community. As she seeks to unearth the truth she becomes entangled in a bloody battle for justice. Genres: Thriller, Drama

KILLING KELKO by Kieran Angelini - A cop, haunted by his disastrous wedding night, must now team with his ex-wife to save her second husband, a Donald-Trump-like presidential candidate who’s been kidnapped by a crazy criminal family. Then the cop is implicated in the abduction. Genres: Comedy, Rom-Com, Action

LIKE A BLOODY MONKEY by Maurizio Caduto - A Muslim trans woman is unjustly arrested and used for prostitution in a Malaysian male prison. The violence she must endure slowly poisons her soul as she fights for survival and revenge. Genres: Drama, LGBTQ

LION KILLER by Adam Scheiner - A bitter broken down weightlifter drives himself and everyone in his life to love and madness in an obsessive pursuit of his last chance at true glory. Genres: Sports, Drama

LOS IDIOTAS by Renee Phoenix - Two less than savvy friends, trying to get rich quick, find themselves embroiled in a drug trafficking stunt. Only their incompetence may save their lives. Genre: Black Comedy, Crime, Action

MY BIG BLACK GAY WEDDING by Caryn K. Hayes - As the elaborate wedding of a lesbian couple comes together, family grievances and career crises threaten to tear the relationship apart. Genres: Drama, Family, Comedy

NONE IS TOO MANY by Brian Wilson - Young Boruk navigates the horrors of the Jewish ghetto through a series of letters given to him by his recently escaped father. Genres: Drama, Historical, Period Piece

ONE SHOT by Dave Thomas - Hostages fight for their lives as they take the gun from a drug crazed robber who barges into a small store - becoming his judge and jury. Their backstories reveal who they really are and why some want to kill the gun man. Genres: Thriller, Crime, Drama

PALEO by Octavia Martin - When his fiancée turns into a Neanderthal and traps him in an exotic game-meat restaurant, a romantically-insecure real estate agent and his two friends must turn her back before she eats them all. Genres: Horror, Comedy

RISE by Ruth Setton - In 1963, A fourteen year-old immigrant photographer dreams of moving to the wealthy white West End of her New Jersey town where the “Real Americans” live, but when the Mayor plans to demolish her blue-collar, multicultural neighborhood, she has to decide whether to fight for her dream or for her community. Genres: Drama, Family, Coming of Age

SETTLEMENT by Jason Sheedy - In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, two resilient young brothers find refuge in a thriving settlement, only to discover that the community's good fortune is tethered to an inescapable covenant with a hellish creature. Genres: Horror, Thriller, Drama

SHRIMP by Nicole Jones - A 62-year-old introverted woman develops supernatural abilities as a result of being born in the Great Salt Lake to a young polygamist girl. Through the process of losing a loving relationship, she discovers a new life and the confidence to share her unique powers with the rest of the world. Genres: Drama, Fantasy, Romance

STEAM by Robert Languedoc - Two inner city boys befriend an elderly man over a mutual interest in trains, then embark upon an adventure to save a forgotten steam engine. Genres; Drama, Family

THE BAD HABITS OF UNHAPPY PEOPLE by Chantal Massuh-Fox - Frances, a sexually free, troubled, and rebellious young woman strives to become a famous writer as she figures out the dysfunctional baggage of her past. Genres: Comedy, Drama, Coming of Age

THE BEER-DIE KID by Matthew Chaffee - A socially awkward college freshman must compete in a sport-drinking tournament to win the girl of his dreams. Genre: Comedy

THE CARRINGTON AFFAIR by Devon Lehr - Star-crossed lovers miss their chance to be together in late 19th century Boston, but find each other again, decades later, reincarnated as new people. Genres: Historical/Period, Romance

THE FAT LADY aka THE DEAD AND THE LIVING by Jaeden Henkel - In Prohibition-era New York, three derelict hitmen try to dig up their latest victim's body after a legendary Mob Boss orders it done. Genres: Horror, Crime, Period Drama

THE DEAL by Andi Delott - A headstrong Hollywood executive puts her career on the line when she pursues a controversial film from a new writer/director. When a scandal from his past emerges, it raises questions about her true motivation and threatens to ruin them both. Genres: Drama, Suspense, Psychological Thriller

THE HAMMER by Jason Hunter - Spurred by famine, a pious, by-the-book Norwegian and his family voyage to the untamed American West to carve out a new life as homesteaders. But when they finally arrive, someone else is already on their land. Genres: Western, Adventure, Drama

THE REBOOT CAMP by Martin Burke - Two film makers set out to expose the self help industry as a sham, but ironically their fake self help group turns into a full blown cult. Genres: Black Comedy, Mockumentary, Satire

THE WARRIORS’ CONCERTO by Jamaal Pittman & Lila Hood - After a medical crisis involving their infant son, a violinist and her husband are accused of child abuse. They must fight the legal and medical systems to prove their innocence, get him the treatment he desperately needs, and keep their family together. Genres: Drama, Biopic, Legal Drama

THE WEIGHT OF LIES by Amanda Samaroo - Two sisters navigate a sexually abusive childhood and the PTSD that consumes and shapes them on the different roads they take through life. Genre: Drama

UNCONVENTIONAL WARFARE by Phillip Hardy - Based on actual events. The mind of a killer is explored during a weeklong rampage, when a former naval reservist and LAPD officer transforms from public servant into public enemy number one. Genres: True Crime, Drama, Action

VIVIAN'S TAI CHI ROLE by Costas Anastasiadi - A struggling actress gets a chance at success only to find the filmmakers require extraordinary control over her behavior to help her prepare for the role. Genre: Martial Arts, Comedy, Drama

WAITLIST by Sheila Jenca - A high school senior, third on Harvard’s waitlist, schemes to keep three accepted students from attending. Genres: Coming of Age Comedy, Romantic Comedy, Buddy

WARBRAVE by Andres Rivera - Inspired by true events. After his tribe is massacred by a racist Colonel, a Native American brave must learn to trust a white man he hates to prevent an all-out war. Genres: Western, Drama, Action

YELLOW by Josh Walkling - Tasked with solving a seemingly random murder, an apathetic private detective is drawn into a deadly game by a sadistic killer, forcing him to confront some dark truths about both himself and humanity as a whole. Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Neo-Noir

Updated: 11/09/2018

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